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Little Victories

This is some garlic that I planted last fall..

While I wait on the actual garden space to be ready, I decided to take on something more manageable.  Not that you can tell yet but I planted some lettuce in the beds on the sides of my patio.

Here is the weekly update on the eggplant and pepper seedlings.

Adventures in Bamboo

Rather than calling the Dingo adventure a failure I am going with not a success.  So after a couple of afternoons in the backyard with the shovel I decided I need a plan B.  So I attempted to activate my Angie's List membership to find a possible tree company.  I got the membership for Christmas and had an access code to activate.  After several attempts I discovered I could not use the code online and had to call them.  After resolving the issues with the membership the agent requested that I review any local landscapers that I have used. I felt like a cartoon with a light bulb lighting up above my head.  Last year I called The Outdoor Company to do some spring clean up in my yard.  As I am described the work that they did, I went to their website and saw a recent project clearing land for a playground with some sort of large machinery. I couldn't get off the phone quick enough to call them and set up an appointment.  I am happy to say that they will be here in the next two weeks to resolve my problem!

Seedlings One

Not much to write here I feel like the photos speak for themselves.

Garden Layout

As usual I put the cart before the horse on the garden project and ordered seeds for the plants I wanted to grow without thinking about what those plants would look like in my garden/yard.  In the wake of the bamboo massacre I though this would be a good aside only to find out it is all math based and for those of you that know me it's amazing I can function with my low math ability.  People like me are the reason calculators were invented.  Luckily my dad was a math major and also has the patience of Job trying to explain simple concepts to me.  I was mentally transported back to high school math when dad would attempt to explain to me how to do my homework and pray I might not fail the exam.  In the end to prevent more tears, I handed off the project and he came up with a great spreadsheet which even I can understand.

Dingo

In my last post I mentioned something about bamboo.  Today's post is all about the first (I'm sure of many) stumbling blocks I have run into in this garden project.  The previous owner of my home decided it would be a good idea to plant bamboo.   I am sure it was a small plant as part of an Asian inspired garden.  Whoever that person was did not do their homework.  The bamboo has taken over my yard and right now it feels like destroyed my ability to start this garden.  Luckily I have the help of family and friends and some modern machinery to get over this hurdle.  Below is a picture of our adventures this weekend with a machine called a Dingo which I procured from my local rental company.

Behind me you can see the bamboo forest.  It does serve a purpose as there is a train track directly behind it but it is definitely slowing down this garden process.  

So prior to renting this machine I called the rental company and explained my conundrum  and they assured me this machine would do the trick and I trusted them.  In case any of my readers has the same issue, it did not.  It was delivered on Saturday afternoon and once my parents arrived we tested it out only to find out that when faced with the strong bamboo roots it stalled out..... every time. 

 Dad I and are resilient (aka stubborn) we were going to make this work.   We started out on Sunday morning about 9am digging at the roots with shovels and cutting them with a hand saw.  Several hours and a trip to Lowes for new shovels later we had barely cleared a 12 by 12 patch.  We were then able to run the Dingo for a couple of passes.  Thank goodness for friends and family because by 3pm I was in complete meltdown, tears and all.  This is much harder than I thought it was going to be.  It just means the reward will be that much sweeter...

Seeds Part Two

I don't mean for my blog to be free advertising for Burpee but they seem to be the best product and are definitely user friendly for newcomers to gardening.    After I placed my order, Burpee shipped all my seeds.  Some required immediate attention and others will be sown directly into the soil once the frost risk has passed. Today the ones that require attention.  I did purchase a seed starting kit from Burpee that comes with the necessary soil.

All you have to do it add water.........

...and then plant your seeds.  There are easy to follow directions on the growing system and also on the packets of seeds directing when and how they should be planted. I used  the growing system and also separate planters

Water, fertilize and wait.  That is unless your planned space for the garden is filled with bamboo roots.  

Seeds Part One

For anyone who has ever serious considered a garden you have a decision to make, seeds or plants that another gardener has prepared for you.  In the past I have allowed other more experienced gardeners to prepare the plants for my garden and have purchased healthy plants from my local community market.  It greatly increases the chance for survival and removes the guess work of when where and what to start.  This journey is going to include seeds and plants.  So once I made this decision I got to pick out what I am going to plant.   After pouring over the Burpee catalog which has more plants that I thought humanly possible, I made what I though to be a modest plan for my garden.  Below is the list of  things that I plan to grow:

Cucumbers
Tomatoes
Potatoes
Green beans
Carrots
Cauliflower
Corn
Onions
Eggplant
Lettuce
Cantaloupe
Peppers
Sweet Potatoes
Pumpkins
Acorn Squash
Watermelon

It didn't seem like that much until I received the email confirmation of my order.  Oh no what I have I done?

Let it Begin

I have been putting off this introduction to my blog because I don't know where to start but I am just going to do this.....I thought it all started with a book called Farm City by Novella Carpenter which I read casually while on vacation last year.  Little did I know how it would change my life and the way that I look at the food I eat.   So when I got home I started planning my garden.  Now to be honest I have gardened before but not on the scale that I am now planning to attempt.  I want not only to feed myself but also my community.  As I began this adventure I was reminded that not only have a had a small garden for the last couple of years but I was raised by two urban farmers although they did not call themselves that.  Some of my earliest memories are of playing in my back yard in Pennsylvania in what seemed to me a massive garden.  My intent in this blog is to document my adventures in text and photograph.  I want to celebrate the wins and perhaps help others who plan to embark on similar journeys!

This is the size of last year's garden.

This is the space for this year's garden.